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If you are pursuing happiness and well-being, it is essential to find balance in your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual life. Developing a practice of these 10 essential components will help keep you on track. While our wonderful products can dramatically enhance your energy and well-being, these elements will help complete your wellness journey and make your life less stressful and more balanced.
The 10 ESSENTIALS:
1. Breathe Deeply
2. Drink Plenty of Water
3. Eat nutritiously
4. Enjoy activity daily
5. Be in Nature - Daily
6. Give and Receive Love
7. Sleep Peacefully
8. Be Forgiving and Accepting
9. Practice Gratitude
10. Develop your relationship with God
Let's explore a little more thoroughly.
BREATHE DEEPLY - Most of us tend to breathe shallowly, especially when we are busy or stressed. Get in the practice of doing deep, conscious breathing several times a day. Increasing your oxygen intake greatly enhances your health, alkalizes your cells, and helps to relieve both stress and depression! When you are stressed or tired, it will give you an instant 'pick-me-up!'.
Take 8 - 10 deep breaths, deep into your belly, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Be sure your abdomen is fully raising and falling with each breath. Do this routine at least 5 times a day. In the morning, mid-afternoon, before sleep, and anytime you feel stressed. Sitting at a Stop Light is a great time to make a habit of deep conscious breathing!
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER - Most of us do not drink enough! So what is enough? Take your weight in pounds, divide that in half, and drink that amount in ounces. Divide the ounces by 8 and that is how many 8 oz. glasses you need. So as an example, a 150 pound person would need to drink 75 ounces per day, about 9+ glasses a day. A 200 pound person would have to drink 100 ounces daily, about 12 glasses.
Be sure you drink filtered water, not just tap water. Get a good filter, and carry a water bottle with you every where you go. Drink and refill as needed! (No need to use disposable plastic bottles). You can even buy a water bottle with a built-in filter.
EAT NUTRITIOUSLY! - A healthy diet, providing your body with all the essential nutrients it needs for growth, energy, and repair, is necessary if you want to feel your best! Be sure you have plenty of fresh fruits (inc. berries), several servings of vegetables, snack on nuts or seeds. Eat clean protein choices, perhaps with free-range eggs and poultry, grass-fed beef, wild fish, or choose beans and tempeh, and include cultured products daily like sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, or pickled beets.
Also choose GOOD oils and fats, such as cooking with coconut oil, use Ghee (clarified butter), eat avocados, organic olive oil, and grass-fed cultured butter.
ENJOY ACTIVITY DAILY - Every single day your body needs to MOVE! It's not always easy to find the time, especially if you have a desk job. Do activities you enjoy at least 3-4 times a week, such as yoga, dancing, hiking, swimming, or biking. But DO include at least 20-30 minutes of daily stretching, rebounding, or jump roping! Getting the blood pumping and the lymph moving can greatly enhance your immune system. Exercise is also the BEST way to keep your blood sugar balanced and your metabolism engines going.
SPEND TIME IN NATURE DAILY - Being outdoors in nature, putting your feet on the ground, connecting, and getting some sunshine on your face or body, is one of the most important things we need to do daily. This can be achieved while you are out exercising.
If you are exposed to man-made information carrying waves such as from electronics, computers, cell phones, TV's, and the like, it is vitally important to spend at least an hour or two out in nature to rebalance the bodies vibrational energy. This can help your cells maintain a balanced state.
GIVE AND RECEIVE LOVE - The energy that keeps the Universe expanding and gives our lives meaning - is LOVE. For many of us it may be easier to GIVE love than it is to receive. Make it a daily practice to show love and kindness to others. Give a compliment, a helping hand, or a hug! Be sure to also acknowledge when someone is giving YOU love. Allow yourself to RECEIVE it fully. Take it all in, smile, and thank them.
Self-love is the KEY ingredient to our healing process! See if you can consciously INCREASE your ability to give yourself love. Be gentle, kind, and loving with yourself. Acknowledge and stop your self whenever you have a negative thought. Change it to something positive immediately!
SLEEP PEACEFULLY - Getting a good nights sleep on a regular basis can be difficult with our busy, stressful lives. It is essential to get at least 7-9 hours of sleep each night so your body can rest, repair, and renew itself. It is proven that we make better decisions when we are well rested. Take control of your busy mind, with NO worrying. Tell yourself that it is now time to relax, turn it off, and you will take time to think about things tomorrow.
Create healthy sleeping habits. Have a cool room, comfortable bed, and allow yourself at least 1-2 hours of unwinding before going to bed. This means NO computers, tablet and cell phone use just before bed as it interrupts our melatonin production. Avoid stimulating conversations, allowing your busy Beta-brainwaves to settle down and your quieter, relaxed Alpha brain to come in, before we go into Theta sleep. The Alpha state is considered our 'Soulful' place which is quieter and more heartfelt. This is why 'pillow talk' with a partner is so nice.
BE FORGIVING AND ACCEPTING - Perhaps one of the greatest keys to enjoying life is the art of forgiving and allowing. Recognize that we are ALL here trying to avoid pain and suffering, and we are all here trying to find more joy, love and peace in our lives. Everyone! Have compassion, allowing the mistakes of others, just as we have made some in our own learning process. Let go of the blame game. Take responsibility for yourself, your actions, what you think and say, and how you react.
Releasing judgments is essential here. If we truly are NOT judging, then there is no real need for forgiveness. This can mean that we need to forgive ourselves as well!
PRACTICE GRATITUDE - Being grateful is truly one of the biggest virtues in life. A daily practice of gratitude bring MORE good into your life! One idea I love to share is before you go to bed, have a beautiful, smooth 'Gratitude' rock next to your bed. Hold it and say ALL the things you are grateful for in that day. When you 'I am grateful for..., then add, it is here for me.' Such as I am grateful for my community, it is here for me. I am grateful for all the roads, they are here for me. I am grateful for the sky, the water, and the mountains, they are here for me. Continue thinking of all the people, places, and things you are grateful for. Watch your abundance increase!
DEVELOP YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD - Each of us needs to cultivate our own relationship with our Creator, Spirit, our Higher Power, Higher Self, or whatever you prefer to call it. Take time daily to meditate, quieting the mind and allowing yourself to LISTEN to our higher wisdom coming through. Make a practice of doing inspirational reading or automatic writing daily, even for a few minutes. The best times would be before bed or first thing in the morning when we are still in our quieter Alpha mind state. Even creating music, artwork or poetry can be considered 'intuitive downloads' inspired by Spirit.
Prayer is the practice of talking with God, asking for blessings, guidance, love or support, for ourselves or others. Communicate with your Higher Guidance system. Start talking with your Angels! They will be delighted and start sharing and working with you!
Adding these 10 essential things into your daily life will have a healthier and more fulfilling impact on your life. Enjoy it as much as you can! Live your BEST life possible!
Jane Smolnik is a Naturopath and Transformational Health Coach, accomplished teacher and healer based in Asheville, NC and works with people from all over. Please visit her websites www.UltimateHealing.com and www.AdrenalMasters.com for more info or to contact her.
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Essential for Happiness
Healthy Practices
Well-Being practices
spiritual health
staying balanced
living well
sleeping well
Self-care
self-love